Episode 94 of the Leaders Sport Business Podcast features a conversation with Rugby League World Cup 2021 CEO and Customer Director Jon Dutton and Terri Lynam (begins at 18:34). With just over a year to go before the tournament – still scheduled to take place to full capacity crowds in venues across England – Dutton and Lynam look ahead to the 21st September opening of the ticket pre-sale window, and explain their strategy for shifting 750,000 tickets during a pandemic.
Before that, David Cushnan and James Emmett discuss the plans being made across the sports industry for the return of socially distanced fans to sports venues, and look into the gathering momentum behind the athlete advocacy movement, and sport’s role as a platform for protest.
On the conversational agenda:
– The factors that go into designing a ticketing plan;
– How Rugby League World Cup 2021 organisers intend to hit their ‘aspirational target’ of 750,000 tickets sold;
– Balancing commercial imperatives with accessibility and inclusivity objectives amid the uncertainty of a new Covid events landscape;
– 80% of tickets under £50; and all tickets sold in 2020 under £121;
– Scenario planning;
– Stakeholder communications and new, remote way to run major events teams.
“We’re focused on delivering the tournament to full crowds, with some additional overlays of health provision.” Jon Dutton, Rugby League World Cup 2021
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